


Fly in the Ointment

by DJRezYourGays



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Ready for that Symmetra redemption story any time now Blizz, call me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-02-03 04:50:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12741330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DJRezYourGays/pseuds/DJRezYourGays
Summary: Interested in a back door into Oasis' highly secure systems, Sombra infiltrates a remote site with ties to the tech utopia, only to discover she isn't the only one with the same idea.MicroWriMo 2017Prompt: Intimacy





	1. Unexpected Variables

"Pathetic."

Sombra sighed, resting her chin in one hand while the other breezed through the Ministry of Transportation's security protocols.  The remote site was about as tough to crack as it had been to find.  For all that Oasis billed itself as the pinnacle of learning, they definitely hadn't been sharing the wealth with their outlying facilities. 

Admittedly, it was why Sombra had chosen the satellite station in the first place.  Oasis itself was a fortress - she had barely made it out after her last intrusion attempt, and she'd had to burn some of her best tricks just to get that.  Now that storming the ramparts was out, it was time for a more classic style of Trojan horse.

There was a light groan from the unconscious woman lying behind her in the small guard house, and Sombra turned to check that she wasn't waking up in earnest.  She had already taken the guard's radio and rerouted the emergency alert to loop back on itself, but she could do without the added distraction.  She drummed her fingers idly on the guard's taser resting on the desk next to her as she pulled up the surveillance feeds for the facility.

The site was little more than a way station on a little-used path to Oasis for any land-based transport.  Bandits and rogue omnic threats made the route unattractive to all but the most desperate, to say nothing of the dangers of the terrain itself.  It was a wonder it had stayed in service this long - any day now the Ministries were likely to cut their losses and abandon the facility.  Lucky for Sombra, that day hadn't yet come.

She scoped the layout of the facility from the surveillance cameras, plotting out her path and clocking guard movements to know how to slip through to the room with the air-gapped shipping manifest archives.  Piece of cake.

Just as she was gathering her things to start her run, a blue flash on one of the camera feeds caught her eye.  A second later, a feed showing an empty hallway halfway across the facility flashed with the same blue light.  Sombra squinted at the screen, watching a tall, graceful woman emerge behind a patrolling guard, carrying a strange weapon in her hand.  A ball of the same blue light swelled inside the whirling arms of the weapon before rocketing into the back of the unsuspecting guard, who dropped like a stone. 

With methodical precision, the mystery woman knelt down, collected the guard's keycard and radio, dragged them into the hallway she'd appeared from, and then continued on her way through the facility as casually as you please.

Sombra felt an odd flutter in her chest, watching the woman work.  There was such care, such purpose to her every movement.  Nothing was wasted.  For a moment, Sombra considered whether she might be some kind of new-wave omnic, but she seemed too fluid, too clever.  Sombra watched her dance across the feeds, erecting hard light constructs to snake her way through the facility without breaking stride, all in time with the guards' seemingly organic pacing through the corridors, as though the woman had all their movements carefully tracked in her head with a reasonable margin for error already calculated.

Another groan from the guard on the floor stirred Sombra out of her mystified gaze.  "Wh...where--?" the guard mumbled, only just starting to piece together what had happened to her when the darts from the taser landed on her chest, shocking her right back to unconscious, all while the stranger holding the weapon watched the monitors with rapt attention.

"How are you doing that?" Sombra smiled, pulling up her own facial recognition software to see if she could identify the mystery woman.  The woman's visor obstructed her face just enough to scramble the software, but Sombra made sure to log her every detail, down to the gait, in hopes she might see her again.  In the midst of it all, she had nearly forgotten her own mission.  Only when the mystery woman started heading for the archives did she remember why she came here in the first place.

"Oh you son of a--" she muttered, hurrying to help out the local security by locking down the path the woman seemed to be taking to the archive room.  The woman in the visor was puzzled to find the keycard she had stolen not working, so much so that she tried it repeatedly expecting it might be some kind of glitch.  Sombra chuckled, strangely proud to have gotten one past this artful thief.

Of course, her joy was short-lived as a pair of guards rounded the corner toward the archive, putting them in plain view of Sombra's mystery woman, who had clearly planned her timing with very little room for error.  Sombra panicked.  Naturally, she didn't care if the woman got caught, although it seemed a shame to waste that kind of talent.  What she did care about was the archives potentially going on lockdown if the guard discovered someone trying to break in - even if it wasn't her.

She scoured her brain for options - setting off an alarm elsewhere in the facility, sending a squealer to their ear buds, anything!  Nothing would be fast enough to stop the mystery woman from being spotted.  Sombra did the first thing that came naturally to her:  she killed the lights.

The entire facility went dark at once just as the guards came around the corner.  The mystery woman's visor gave off a faint glow before blinking out.  "Quick thinking, amiga," Sombra whispered, as if worried her own voice could be heard through the surveillance feeds.  The cameras switched to thermal imaging automatically, washing out the image in a warm collage of colors.  Sombra could see the mystery woman's outline perfectly as she stood with her weapon raised, waiting to see how the guards would respond. 

"Now let's get you a way out of there," Sombra said, returning to the door controls.  She bypassed the access panel and opened the doors slightly, hoping the sound might be quiet enough that only the mystery woman would hear it.  "Come on, come on..."

To her great relief, the mystery woman slipped through the open gap in the doors after only a moment's hesitation, no doubt considering her strange good fortune.  Sombra shut the doors behind her, effectively trapping her in the room with the archive data as the facility's emergency lighting flickered on.

Gathering her things in a hurry, Sombra bolted out of the guard tower, flinging her translocator onto the roof and triggering it before it had even stopped to land.  Avoiding the roof guard yelling into his radio about the lights, she pried open one of the vents as quickly as she dared and started down.  Dropping from the ceiling outside the archive room, she made short work of the two guards, stopping to grab one of their radios before sauntering toward the end of the hall where the mystery woman was staring at her curiously through a small, reinforced window in the door.

Sombra waved the guard's radio, holding up four fingers to signal the long-haired woman on what channel to use.  "You really are something special," she said, watching the woman's reaction.  The woman on the far side of the glass seemed unmoved, studying Sombra carefully as if trying to make sense of her at all.  "You just walked right in here, and might've walked right back out with what you came for.  But, you see, the thing is, I need that data.  And, I'm thinking, you need to get these doors open.  So.  Maybe we can help each other, eh, reinita?"

The mystery woman arched one eyebrow in response.  Sombra smiled, taking another step closer to the door.  In truth, she could go in and get the information on her own, but she was too curious about this stranger to let the opportunity go.  Plus, anyone with her skills could be a very valuable friend to have, especially if they both wanted to get inside Oasis.  That she was dangerously statuesque was entirely beside the point, Sombra told herself.

She watched as the mystery woman raised the radio to her lips, never taking her eyes off Sombra with the same cold, scrutinizing gaze.  "No," she said, letting go of the button and turning to plug a device into the archive server to begin the data transfer.

"Aye, so stubborn," Sombra groaned into the radio.  "Listen, it's not like you have any real choice here.  I'm trying to do you a favor."  She began to pace in front of the door, pausing each time she passed the window to see if she was getting any kind of reaction out of the mystery woman.  "Of course, I could just let the security team find you.  I'm sure they'll be here any minute."

Finishing the data transfer, the woman stood to her full height, took a moment to compose herself and then turned to face Sombra through the glass.  "Such a lack of imagination," she said, pointing her projector at the floor.  It whirled to life, crafting something out of hard light.  There was a blue flash, and then the mystery woman was gone.  Sombra pressed her face to the glass, anxious for a fleeting glimpse, but all that was left behind was the small platform of the teleporter, which dissipated soon after.

Cussing under her breath, Sombra rushed to bypass the security lock.  She had only just entered the archive room when she heard the security team approaching.  With no time, she jammed a small device in the back of the server and rushed back out into the hall.  The armed and armored security team rounded the corner, taking aim and demanding she stand down, but Sombra was already tossing her translocator up into the open vent, working her way up the shaft to the roof.

One more good toss cleared the perimeter fence, and Sombra crouched in the bushes outside as she listened to the alarms blaring all over the facility.  She pulled up a small virtual window to check the progress of the download her wireless transmitter had enabled.  Ninety-seven percent, ninety-eight - the progress bar crawled for what felt like an eternity as security prowled the grounds in search of the intruder.  Well, intruders.

As the transfer completed, Sombra enabled her cloaking device and slipped away, pausing atop a hill not far outside the facility to glance back, searching for some sign of her mystery woman.  The artful thief had vanished with her prize, leaving Sombra with a host of questions and a racing pulse that wasn't likely to settle down any time soon.


	2. Against Her Programming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While discussing the fallout from her recent successful mission, Satya ruminates on Vishkar's true purpose in Oasis and whether she might be witnessing a repeat of the disaster in Rio de Janeiro. As she debates what to do to prevent it, she gets advice from a most unlikely source.
> 
> MicroWriMo 2017  
> Prompt: Defiance

Pathetic, Satya thought as she waited outside the room where Sanjay was discussing the exploits of her most recent endeavor.

The security at the remote site for Oasis' Ministry of Transportation had been laughable at best. If it hadn't been for the purple-haired imp switching the security codes, she would have completed her objective in the prescribed time with all variables accounted for and duly addressed.

Instead, she had been forced to resort to one of many contingency plans prepared for the encounter. Naturally it was a clean exit with the data in hand and her superiors seemed more than satisfied with the recovery, but Satya herself was disappointed.

The spry little opportunist had cost her the joy of a clean, crisp run of the facility, and the thought gnawed at her every nerve.  The possibility of another agent hitting the same facility - a facility Oasis' Ministries had put at least some effort into making disappear - at the exact same time was so astronomical as to be beneath consideration.  And yet.

She stiffened up when the door opened, and Sanjay emerged from the meeting with a bright smile on his face.  Satya got to her feet at once.  "Wonderful!" he said, arms wide.  "Right on time, as always."

Yes, Satya thought, if only their meeting had finished on time instead of eleven minutes over, that might have mattered.  "Sanjay," she nodded, waiting to hear his appraisal of the situation. 

She still didn't know what the company's interest in Oasis was.  It was, perhaps, a spiritual rival to their own Utopaea, and the collective might of technology shared between the Ministries was worthy of anyone's attention.  Still, Satya found she was rarely employed for "after-hours" endeavors unless the need was dire, and that made her curious about the value Vishkar was placing on the desert city's comings and goings.

"Excellent work, Satya.  And no casualties, which I know you like," he added with a wink.  "The board would have preferred it if it hadn't been quite so loud in the end, but you got the data, and that's what matters."

It's not all that matters, Satya thought, again running through the evening in her head, trying to think how she could have accounted for the rogue agent and all the chaos she'd brought into the situation.  "As a reward," Sanjay continued, "you're getting a few days off, on us."

"What?"  Satya never asked for time off.  She had too many designs in the works, too many projects to manage and no one she trusted to shepherd them in her absence.  This 'reward' felt like anything but.  Perhaps the board were more upset about the sloppiness of the mission than Sanjay was letting on.  If only she could explain to them that it wasn't her fault.

"I insist," Sanjay added, with a smile that was not as comforting as Satya suspected he had intended it to be.  "You've been burning the candle at both ends, Satya - you need a break.  Take a vacation.  Clear your head.  Come back fresh in a few days and we'll have something truly monumental for you to work on."

"They're trying to get rid of you," a tiny voice said, speaking through her headset.  She recognized it instantly - the mystery woman from the last mission.  Satya had to grit her teeth to avoid responding out loud.  "Don't trust it, reinita.  They're going a long way to keep this quiet."

Satya tried to ignore her, not wanting to alarm Sanjay in the middle of his praise.  The truth was, she didn't trust this, but she wasn't going to give the woman responsible for spoiling her last run the satisfaction of knowing it.  "I hear there's an excellent modern art exhibit in town," Sanjay was saying, making recommendations on how Satya spend her time off as though she were a child in need of guidance.

Satya had no intention of spending her time off relaxing.  Nothing sounded more stressful.

"Do you even know what you recovered, reinita?" the voice came again, practically purring into her ear.  How had the little imp gotten into their communications systems?  Wasn't it bad enough she had ruined her flawless planning the night before, now she had to harass her at work?  Who was this woman, anyway?

"Thank you," Satya told Sanjay, pausing in the hall outside the restrooms.  "I'm certain I'll find something to keep myself busy."

"Of course," Sanjay nodded with that same unsettling smile.  "Enjoy yourself!  The time will fly by before you know it.  Great things on the horizon, Satya - all thanks to your hard work!"

Satya watched him go, resting one hand on the door to the restroom.  She had just a moment of peace before the voice on her headset started in again.  "He thinks he's so clever," the voice said.  "'Great things on the horizon?'  I bet he read that off a poster in someone's office."

"Please be quiet," Satya rolled her eyes, ducking into the restroom and taking a moment to confirm she was alone.  Well, physically, anyway.

"I'm just looking out for you, reinita," the voice said.  "What can I say?  I like you.  I like your style."

"Who are you?" Satya demanded, beginning to pace in front of the mirrors.

"A fan," the voice said.  The teasing lilt in her tone was driving Satya up a wall.

"What do I call you?" Satya asked through gritted teeth.  She had already intuited what 'reinita' meant: Little Queen.  She considered several similarly insulting pet names for the gnat in her ear.  

"Sombra," the voice said after a long pause.

Satya laughed.  Sombra.  Shadow.  Of course.  "What do you want, 'Sombra?'"

"Like I said," Sombra explained, "I'm looking out for you.  I want to make sure you know who you're working for."

 "I am aware," Satya shot back, stiffening in front of the mirror.  Her reflection looked less certain.

"Oho?" Sombra teased.  "Then why haven't you told security that their systems have been hacked?  Face it, reinita - you want to know what I have to share."

"Still looking to 'do me a favor?'" Satya sighed, recalling the woman's offer outside the archive room.  "What makes you think I need your help?"

"Because you can't teleport yourself out of this one," Sombra explained.  There was something new in her voice that gave Satya paused.  Sadness?  No - concern.  Satya narrowed her eyes at the mirror, taking a deep breath.

"Fine," she said.  "I admit that I have...questions.  What makes you think I can trust any answers you might provide?"

"I know you," Sombra chuckled.  "You need data!  Thankfully, data is my specialty."

Satya very much doubted that.  Valid data required precision, patience; careful, measured strokes.  This Sombra exhibited not one of those qualities.  But no sooner had she thought it than the projector on her arm flickered to life.  It created a small screen, the familiar blue now marred by thin streaks of magenta at its edges.  A pixelated skull icon lurked in the bottom right corner.  Above it, a collage of information appeared - a collection of video surveillance, transaction histories, building schematics of Oasis' central spire.  Satya thumbed through the various windows, pulling up cross-comparisons with her own records to confirm what she could.

She paused when she neared the bottom of the stack.  Only two windows remained.  One of them showed a scene she had tried her very best to forget: the explosion of Calado's offices.  The still shot showed the fire raining down on the favela below.  Satya closed the window and her eyes immediately, trying to shut the image out of her mind.  She could still see the young girl's face in her mind, asking her if she was lost.  If she hadn't then, she certainly was now.

When she finally opened her eyes, she regarded the last image - an emblem, like a ram's head, or perhaps the letter T.  "What is this?" she asked.  "What are you showing me?"

"Turns out we work for the same people, reinita," Sombra said, the lightness in her voice replaced by more concern.  It was the sound of it that Satya found the most chilling.  "They want to 'make the world a better place.' Isn't that the company motto?"

"And what do you want?" Satya asked, feeling an uncomfortable weight settle in her stomach.  

"You've seen what their 'better world' looks like," Sombra snarled.  "I want to break it down faster than they can build it up."

"And me?" Satya asked.  "What do you need me to do?"

"What you do best, reinita," Sombra said.  "Build something better."

Satya felt something swell within her, chasing out the awful pinch in her gut.  She breathed in sharply, straightening up and watching her reflection reclaim the poise that was her hallmark.  "Interesting," she said, doing her best to sound unimpressed as she lightly dabbed at the corner of her eye.  "When do we get st--"

She was interrupted by the sound of the door opening behind her as a coworker came to use the restroom.  The screen on her projector vanished at once.  Satya nodded awkwardly to the woman before hurrying past her to the exit and back out into the busy hallway.  She took a second to collect herself before starting toward her office, taking care not to meet her coworkers' eyes as she hurried along. 

She glanced at her arm, rubbing her hand along the smooth chassis and hoping in some impossible part of her mind to feel some remnant warmth from the shared connection. She caught the briefest glimpse of the purple skull icon flickering for just a moment before it winked out again. 

Satya smiled.  What an annoying little complication this Sombra was turning out to be.  Perhaps Satya would enjoy her upcoming vacation after all.


	3. New Directive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After weeks working together to uncover Vishkar's true motives and unmask their dangerous partnerships, Sombra surprises Satya with a meeting of an entirely different nature.
> 
> MicroWriMo 2017  
> Prompt: Invitation

The flickering notification stirred Satya from her daydreaming.  The blueprints for the planned Utopaea Center of Science & Learning glared back at her on the holographic screen floating in the center of her small, spartan apartment.  Sombra's telltale emblem blinked into focus in the bottom right-hand corner, right over the laboratory wing.

It had been weeks since the late night incursion against the Ministry of Transportation's satellite offices where she'd first run afoul of the strange woman - a talented hacker with a playful manner who seemed to delight in pushing Satya right up to her wit's end.  At this point Satya was beginning to wonder if she'd ever be rid of her.  Even more troubling: she wasn't sure she wanted to be.

After she'd accepted Sombra's offer to work together, the two of them had made the most of her forced vacation, connecting the dots between Vishkar's recent interests and those of Sombra's employers - the Talon organization.  Whatever they were planning, it all centered around Oasis.  

Stretching her arms high overhead and shifting her legs out from under her, Satya finally touched the pixelated purple skull in the corner of her screen, sprawling out on the floor of her apartment to finish undoing the kinks in her back.

"Hola, reinita," came the crackly voice, interrupted by the sound of wind across the mic.  A small video popped up, showing Sombra faintly outlined against the night's sky.  She waved with an impish grin before leaning forward as if trying to peek behind the camera.  "Saty?  Are you there?"

Satya sat up suddenly, caught by surprise mid-monkey pose and hurrying to pull her hair out of her face.  She hadn't been expecting a video call.  Sombra never used video.  She rarely used audio, even, typically opting for text snuck into other programs here and there where Satya couldn't help but notice the bits out of place, like her calendar invites or the tiny display on her electric kettle.  This was unprecedented.  "What is it?" Satya asked.  "What's happened?"

"Nothing," Sombra laughed settling back and checking her nails.  "I just wanted to see you."  Satya narrowed her eyes at the screen, waiting for the real explanation.  It didn't take long for Sombra to roll her eyes and crack under the pressure.  "Fine - I found something.  Something good.  Something really good."

"And?" Satya waited, twisting both arms overhead to stretch out her shoulders.  Sombra watched her hands through the video feed, momentarily mesmerized until she returned them to her lap.  "Sombra."

"Hm?"

"What did you find?" she asked.  It wasn't like Sombra to lose her train of thought. Between that and the video call, Satya was quickly growing concerned over the nature of what the woman had uncovered.

"Oh," Sombra said, flashing a casual grin, "it's something you really have to see in person.  Come up to the roof, reinita."

"What?"  

"Come up to the roof," Sombra repeated, tilting her camera so that Satya could see where she was.  She recognized the neatly squared-off rooftop garden of her apartment building.  She sighed, not terribly surprised that Sombra had discovered where she lived.  But why meet here, in the middle of the night?

Before she could ask, Sombra tapped the screen with one glowing, gloved finger and the video vanished, leaving only the soft glow of the Science & Learning Center design behind.  Satya rubbed the bridge of her nose.  Just when she thought she was beginning to see a pattern in Sombra's behavior, the woman had to go and surprise her all over again.

Finishing her stretches and getting dressed, she made her way up to the roof, feeling the brisk night air prickle against her skin.  Stepping out of the elevator, she was surrounded by the city skyline at night, enjoying the clever regularity of the lights sprawling out in all directions.  Utopaea really was a marvel - a new bastion for humanity in the wake of crisis.  Where, she wondered, had a company capable of building such a wonder gone so very, very wrong?  And how had she not seen it?

"What kept you?" Sombra teased, sitting on a ledge above her, feet kicking idly as she watched Satya admiring the scene.  She offered the woman a hand, but could only frown as Satya crafted herself a small ladder to climb up to the ledge.  "You're never any fun."

"We are uncovering a conspiracy of global proportions," Satya reminded her.  "We do not have time for 'fun.'  Now, what was so important that you made me come all the way up here to see?"

"Watch," Sombra grinned, bringing up a small display of her own to execute a few quick commands.  Satya sat beside her, puzzled but amused by how much joy Sombra took in her tinkering.  It was only the second time she had seen the woman in person, and the first time since they had started working together.  Satya found herself tracing the lines of Sombra's augments with her eyes, curious about the extensiveness of her modifications, until she realized how her gaze might be interpreted if Sombra happened to catch her.

She returned her attention to the skyline as Sombra finished whatever she was doing and scooted closer, wrapping an arm around Satya's shoulders and gesturing at the ocean of city lights.  "Ahora!"

Satya watched in puzzlement as the various lights and billboards began to flicker, shifting and swirling into a new pattern away from their typical chaotic sprawl.  Like giant pixels against the night's sky, the lights paused on a remarkably recognizable scene - two women at a cafe, sipping from steaming drinks and laughing. 

The scene shifted almost immediately, lingering again on the same two women now walking hand in hand, pointing at familiar constellations overhead.  Finally it swirled into an alarmingly clear image of two women sitting on a rooftop ledge, gazing out at the skyline together with a tiny pixel heart appearing in the air above them.  Sombra's telltale skull emblem flashed for a moment, filling the entire view before the lights returned to their original state. 

A chorus of shouts and honking horns could be faintly heard from the streets far below as the city recovered from the momentary disruption.  Satya found herself similarly reeling, her face shifting through several emotions in rapid sequence before coming to rest on confusion.  She turned to see Sombra's expectant face remarkably close to her own.  "Sombra," Satya asked, finding her gaze lingering on the woman's lips as she readied for their answer, "what is this?"

Sombra laughed and let her arm drop from Satya's shoulder, leaning back to prop herself on the ledge and stare at the empty sky.  "You need to relax, reinita!" she said.  "All week you've been working on that new design, and all night you've been working on our little project - you need a break!"

Satya narrowed her eyes at the woman.  "This is why you brought me up here?"

"Yes," Sombra admitted.  "We're going out.  There's a nice little place up the street, very quiet, very clean - you'll love it."  She hopped down off the ledge, turning to offer Satya a hand.  

Pulling in a sharp breath to steady herself, Satya again ignored her offer, returning her gaze to the skyline without another word.  Sombra rolled her eyes and began to pace.  "Ay, so stubborn.  Listen, we've been going at this for weeks now.  We don't have any new leads, and at least one of us needs to keep up appearances if we're ever gonna get close enough to get something solid."  She paused, looking up at Satya blithely ignoring her from the ledge above.  "We can't do that if one of us is falling over from not taking care of herself."

"I'm fine," Satya insisted, feeling much more uncomfortable with Sombra's monitoring of her work habits than of the woman appearing unannounced on her apartment rooftop in the middle of the night.  The woman's concern was more puzzling than it was comforting.  Why did she care, anyway?

Sombra raised an eyebrow.  "Yesterday you fell asleep in your palak paneer."

Satya shifted uncomfortably, summoning all the poise she could despite how heavy she felt.  It was true she hadn't been sleeping well since returning from her forced vacation.  Learning that Sanjay might well be part of a global conspiracy and that her best work was one of their many tools had made it difficult to focus on much else.  

"I'm taking you out," Sombra said, again offering a hand.  "We're getting you something to eat, maybe going for a walk, and when we get back, you're going to sleep."

"Really." Satya felt a strange smile start to tug at the corner of her lips.  Sombra's confidence was paper thin, but she put on a good show of hiding it.  Unfortunately for her, she was dealing with an expert.

"I will tuck you in myself if I have to," Sombra added, trying her best to make it sound like a threat.  It seemed to have the opposite effect as Satya began slowly, almost imperceptibly, to laugh.

The laugh rose on its own until it was all Satya could do.  She didn't know where it came from or what was so amusing to her, but neither could she stop herself.  There was something so wonderfully ridiculous in Sombra's proposal, from the rooftop display with the lights to her adorably awkward attempts at being intimidating.  Satya laughed until her sides hurt, until she lost her balance on the ledge and went tumbling off.

She landed in Sombra's arms, which seemed to come as a surprise to both of them.  They shared a startled look for a moment, each waiting to be sure the other was okay before they burst into shared fits of laughter once more.

Catching her breath, Satya got to her feet and summoned up what meager poise she could still muster.  "Fine," she said at last.  "I suppose I could go for some pani puri before getting back to work.  But you are buying."  Sombra started to object when Satya leaned over and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.  "Thank you," she said.

"No, no fue nada," Sombra stammered, feeling the heat rush to her head.  "Sometimes you just need someone keeping an eye out for you."

"You're a little too good at that," Satya added with a grin, leading the way to the elevator.  "Come on.  I know a good khau galli that's not too crowded at this hour."

Sombra snapped out of her daydreaming to hurry after her, ducking into the elevator with a proud smile, impressed she'd actually managed to get Satya to take a night off for a change.  There'd be plenty of time to get back to the business of undermining Vishkar after a good night's sleep.

"I hope you weren't kidding about tucking me in," Satya said just as the elevator doors closed.  Sombra's sputtered attempt at an explanation only had Satya laughing through several floors on their way down to the street.  It was nice to be the one catching the hacker off guard for a change.

 


	4. Tangled Web

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sombra receives a late night visit from a Talon agent, but Widowmaker isn't here on business...
> 
> Overwatch WLW's Winter Femslash Fest 2017  
> Prompt: Balance/Chaos

The harsh purple glow under Sombra's fingers strained to fill the small abandoned apartment she was squatting in while she pored over the latest data coming out of Oasis.  The hot Brazilian air carried old memories in through the open windows along with the sounds of a city very much alive despite the late hour.

With a gesture, she switched windows to a grainy holographic video feed of a warehouse where a pair of omnic workers were shooting the breeze next to the charging station. They hadn't taken any deliveries all night.  Maybe her intel was wrong?  No, she just had to wait a little longer.

Another gesture pulled up a third window where an alias of hers was in the process of booking a flight to Utopaea.  Sombra smiled in the darkness, feeling a little lighter as she remembered her last time in the city.  A rooftop, an overblown proposal, some late night greasy street food, and the rare laugh of a woman she hadn't stopped thinking about since.

A sound at the window made her jump.  In one sweeping motion she scattered the display and reached for her gun, taking aim at the pigeon taking off from the fire escape outside.  She kept her gun trained on the open window for a moment after, just in case, but slowly relaxed and returned her attention to the screen.

Still nothing from the warehouse.  Somba pulled up a host of new windows, double-checking the address, re-reading the intercepted message she'd decrypted - it all pointed to the same place: a remote warehouse in São Paulo popular with organizations interesting in keeping their assets under the radar.  Any minute now, she expected to spot Talon agents slipping about in the shadows, targeting a shipment they believed held valuable goods bound for Oasis.  That's assuming they hadn't already figured out she had switched the shipping numbers, but if that were true she had much bigger things to worry about.

Sombra reassured herself that operations got delayed all the time for any number of reasons.  With so many failures in recent raids, Reaper was getting cautious.  There was no reason to worry.  Yet.

"Disappointed?"

The silky voice skittered up Sombra's spine and she whipped around, one hand on her gun, the other on her translocator, trying to judge the angle out the window to make it safely to street level.  "Relax, chérie," Windowmaker chuckled, stepping out of the shadows like a ghost.  The glow from Sombra's holographic display draped her in purple from head to toe.  "If I were here to kill you, you would never see it coming."

"What do you want, then?" Sombra snapped, tucking the gun away and gesturing behind her back to close the warehouse feed.

"I know what you are up to," she said.  "Why you are always sneaking away."

Sombra felt her pulse start to race.  Her fingers tightened around the translocator.  It would be easy enough to run, to lose Amélie in the busy city, but if Talon had discovered her deception, why was she still alive?  

"Nothing escapes my sight," Widowmaker continued, approaching Sombra with slow, graceful steps.  Sombra did her best to hold her ground, fighting the urge to back away from the sniper's oppressive gaze.  Widow reached for something at her hip, causing Sombra to flinch in spite of herself as the woman produced a holoprojector.  It flickered to life, displaying a silent scene of a small Utopaean cafe where Sombra and Satya sat laughing over tea.  Overlaid on Satya's smiling face was the ghost of a crosshairs.  The whole thing had been captured through the lens of Widowmaker's scope.  Sombra didn't even know she was in India.  Seems she hadn't been the only one sneaking away.

"Wh-what is this?" Sombra stammered, taking another half-step back before catching herself.  "If you hurt her--"

"Don't worry," Widowmaker said, tucking the projector away, "she is safe.  For the moment."

Sombra felt her blood start to boil as fear turned to rage.  It became her turn to advance on Widowmaker, stopping inches away from the woman's face.  From up close, the sadness behind the woman's eyes was inescapable.  It did nothing to stem the tide of Sombra's fury.  "Don't you fucking touch her, araña!  You think you can't feel anything? I am willing to put that to the test, amiga, just you--"

She stopped short as she felt the cool metal of a rifle barrel softly nudge the underside of her chin.  She took a careful step back and Widowmaker lowered the weapon.  "I am not here to threaten you, Sombra," she explained with a heavy sigh.  "Your little architect is no concern of mine."

"Then why are you here?" Sombra insisted, feeling the panic creep back in as her anger started to subside.

"Because I am not the one you need to worry about," Widowmaker explained, walking to the window.  "This is a dangerous obsession of yours.  You cannot maintain this delicate balance forever.  You will get careless.  Trust me, I know."  Sombra narrowed her eyes, trying to guess at what she meant.  "Talon does not tolerate weakness.  If they discover that she is yours, it will go badly for you both."

"What are you saying?" Sombra asked, seeing a softer side of the seasoned killer than she ever could've guessed existed.

"Walk away, Sombra," she said, climbing onto the fire escape.  "It is not too late for you.  For her."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Sombra scoffed, choking back the worry in her voice.  Widowmaker said nothing, launching her grappling hook toward the opposite roof and swinging away.  Sombra rushed to the window, a thousand questions springing to her lips, but the woman was already gone, heading off in the direction of the warehouse.

The warehouse.  Sombra ducked back inside and fanned open her displays.  Moments later, the warehouse camera went dark.  The raid had started.

She pulled up a new window, sending the wake command to the bug she'd planted earlier.  In much clearer resolution, she watched the Talon agents make short work of the omnic workers before zeroing in on the crate she'd led them to.  Widowmaker was no doubt offering support on the perimeter.

One of the agents slapped a safecracker on the panel, watching it cycle through combinations until it found the one to open the crate.  Sombra rolled her eyes at the antiquated tech and made a mental note to offer a few upgrades the next time she sensed she was falling out of favor with the organization.

She watched them open the crate and wheel out two server racks, each bearing the mark of the Vishkar Corporation.  Even with their masks on, the team's confusion was clear.  Sombra smiled to herself as they bagged the hard drives and headed to the extraction point.  

A soft yellow glow from the screen still showing the pending plane ticket purchase caught her eye, and Sombra heard Widowmaker's words of warning all over again.  Glancing back at the video feed and the empty racks of Vishkar servers, she made up her mind, purchasing the ticket before packing up and leaving the abandoned apartment to go rendezvous with the Talon team.

Whatever Talon was really after had already been rerouted elsewhere - a simple shipping mix-up she would graciously help them resolve later.  Instead, the agents had unwitting been working for her, recovering what she hoped would be the evidence she and Satya had been searching for: proof of what Viskhar's upper management had been up to.

She smiled as she hurled her translocator to the roof of the building opposite.  In a few days, she'd be on her way to India with a gift for Satya.  Amélie wasn't wrong - if Talon found out, it would spell disaster for both of them, but Sombra refused to accept that there wasn't a third option.  In any case, she wasn't giving the woman up.  She could find a way to walk this tight rope somehow.  If the spider could do it, how hard could it be?


	5. Elegant Code

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seeking their next victory in unveiling the Vishkar conspiracy, Sombra and Satya are forced to infiltrate a high-class company function to spy on their target, if they don't get too distracted by each other first.
> 
> Overwatch WLW's Winter Femslash Fest 2017  
> Prompt: Light/Dark

The bourbon-tinted light of the hotel room bathed Sombra's reflection in an unfavorable hue as she adjusted the little black dress she'd picked out for the occasion, second-guessing her choice for such a risque cut. The short backless number would normally be right up her alley, but tonight she was crashing a Viskhar investor party arm in arm with Satya Vaswani. For the first time, she felt very exposed.

A knock at the door made her jump.  She grabbed her clutch and the tiny holdout pistol within and checked the peephole, relieved to see Satya standing outside, a curious half-smile on the woman's lips.  She paused to catch her breath before opening the door, hoping the woman couldn't hear her heart pounding.

Satya was a vision in a white and gold sari, her long hair tossed forward in a thick braid over her bare shoulder.  A bright blue stone in a teardrop cut hung above her eyes on a silver chain, matching a similar gem hanging from a lace choker around her neck. Sombra did her best not to stare.

"You look nice," Satya said, stepping past her into the hotel room.  Sombra shut the door behind her, checking the peephole out of habit to make sure no one had followed her up the hall.  "Are you certain you are ready for this?"

"Of course," Sombra said, hiding the flutter in her chest behind a confident grin.  She tossed her clutch on the bed and picked up a small device that could easily be mistaken for lipstick, twisting the base to reveal the small dome antenna bearing her trademark sugar skull emblem inside.  "Get me close to Sanjay, and this little  will sync up automatically.  Everything on his phone will be ours."

"The encryption codes," Satya whispered.  "We'll finally find out what was on those drives."

"And you'll have all the proof you need," Sombra grinned, tucking the device away.  "Está chupado."

Satya didn't look convinced.  Sombra couldn't tell what worried the woman more: that their plan might not succeed, or what she might find if it did. Without thinking, Sombra took Satya's hand in both of hers.  "Hey hey hey, reinita, it's okay!  We can do this."  She flashed what she hoped was a reassuring smile.  "I've got your back."

Satya was too distracted looking down at the hand Sombra had reached for.  Her prosthetic couldn't feel the hands wrapped around hers, but the warmth of the gesture came through all the same.  Breathing out the worst of her worries, she cupped her other hand over Sombra's and managed a fledgling smile of her own.  "I know," she said, meeting Sombra's gaze.  "Let's finish this."

They headed downstairs to find the party well underway.  Executives, celebrities and their various plus-ones mingled while a holographic display showcased the company's recent public accomplishments.  Satya scanned the crowd for signs of her boss, trying not to let all the noise overwhelm her.  She took Sombra's arm in part to keep her close, in greater part to steady herself.  Unfortunately it had the opposite effect for Sombra, who was suddenly finding it difficult to concentrate on anything else but Satya's fingers intertwined with her own.

Spotting Sanjay on the far side of the dance floor, Satya didn't recognize the two people with him: a woman with short red hair in a tux and suspenders next to a broad-shouldered bald man with an imposing figure contrasted by his white tuxedo.  She felt Sombra's fingers tighten around hers until the grip turned painful.  "Sombra, what--"  Her question vanished at the sight of the fear on the woman's face.  She followed Sombra's gaze to the two people talking with Sanjay.  "Who are they?"

Sombra's only answer was to turn and walk in the other direction, scanning frantically for the exits.  She stopped short when Satya didn't follow, their still-interwoven hands tethering her to the spot.  "Where are you going?" Satya whispered.  "Sombra!"

Sombra shook her head, not taking her eyes off the large man in the white tux.  She took another half-step toward the exit, recalling a conversation in a dark room in São Paulo about exactly what Talon would do if they discovered the secret Sombra had been hiding.  The look of confused irritation on Satya's face drew her back to the moment.  "You don't understand," she said.  "They'll recognize me.  We have to go."

"We can still finish this!" Satya insisted, glancing back to make sure Sanjay hadn't noticed the commotion.  Luckily the other partygoers were too busy with their own affairs to pay them any mind.  "Sombra, please."  Her irritation gave way to desperation.  This was her best chance in months to finally learn the truth, to unveil the dark specter lurking behind the company she had dedicated her life to, perhaps even a chance to cast it out into the open for all to see.  But she needed Sombra.  "Please," she said, feeling a sting at the corner of her eyes, "I have to know."

The pain in the woman's eyes scattered any objections Sombra could hope to make.  The only smart move, the only way she'd survived up till now, was to run, but she was rooted her to the spot.  To her own surprise, Sombra realized there was no way she would leave here without Satya, and that knowledge terrified her most of all.  Swallowing her fear, she stepped in close to whisper.  "Fine.  But they'll know my face.  How do we get close enough to use the device?"

Satya scanned the room again, searching for an answer in the architecture.  Sanjay must have done the same, she realized - the corner he and his associates were tucked into didn't allow anyone to get close without being seen, while hiding all three of them from most angles of the room.  There was no way to approach the trio without them knowing - the perfect meeting spot for the sort of business she was here to unmask. 

The noise of the room made it difficult to concentrate on a solution and she cursed under her breath.  Sombra squeezed her hand and Satya returned the gesture, steadying herself to shut out the chatter, the laughter, the music...

The music!  The answer had been right in front of them all along.  She snatched Sombra's clutch, pulling out the recording device and tucking it between their palms.  "Come on," she said, dragging Sombra onto the dance floor that sat between them and their target. 

Before she could react, Sombra found herself spun around so she was facing away from Sanjay and the others.  Satya let her prosthetic lead while her other hand came to rest on Sombra's bare back, obscuring the body modifications lest they give the game away all on their own.  "Wh-what are you doing?" Sombra asked, breath catching in her throat as Satya pulled her dangerously close and launched into the steps.

"Follow my lead," Satya whispered, keeping her eyes on Sanjay as she carefully worked their way across the dance floor to get closer to the mark.  She pulled back just far enough to meet Sombra's eyes, finding a whole new kind of fear looking back at her.  "You do know how to dance," she asked.

Sombra nodded urgently, fumbling for the words to explain just how long it had been since she'd last danced with anyone.  She fell into step with Satya's graceful motions as best she could, trying not to focus too much on the heat of the woman's hips pressed tightly against her own as they swayed together across the dance floor.    

Taking a deep breath, Sombra put her mind back on their mission, thumbing the device nestled between their palms to get ready for the moment they were close enough to put it to use.  She tried to shut everything else out - the thrum of the music, the stares of some of the partygoers taking note of the show they were putting on, the scent of Satya's perfume every time her hair whipped past.  She met her partner's eyes, waiting for the signal.

They crossed the dance floor like a ribbon on the breeze, bending with the music and swinging ever closer to an unsuspecting Sanjay.  Sombra's footwork was rusty but she found Satya's motions easy to follow, even teasing a few moves of her own when it felt like their dance was getting too predictable.  The chaos fascinated Satya, who kept finding new patterns in the random deviations that complemented the shape of the dance.  Before long they were both too caught up in the moment, each challenging the other as they skated across the floor together, unable to take their eyes off each other.

The end of the song and the ensuring applause caught them both by surprise, especially when they learned that much of the applause was not for the band, but for them.  Reality settled in like the drop of a hammer and Sombra felt the panic rise in her chest.  If Sanjay and the others hadn't noticed them before, they certainly would now.  She saw the same worry in Satya's eyes before they darted to the corner to confirm what they both feared.

Uncertain what else to do, Satya took a page from Sombra's book and trusted her instincts, pulling the woman in for a kiss that convenient hid her face from any curious onlookers.  Sombra's eyes shot wide at the unexpected embrace.  The urgency in Satya's lips was intoxicating.  Coupled with the intensity of their dance, it was enough to make her lightheaded, but not so much that she didn't guess at Satya's true intention.

She turned on the device, letting it soak up the data from Sanjay's phone as the applause died down and the next song queued up.  Satya's hands on either side of her face kept her hidden, but there was no hiding the heat scorching her cheeks.  Fake kiss or no, they were both sinking into the feeling, just as they had the dance before. 

A light buzz from the device signaled the end of the copy process, and the end of the need for their diversion.  Slowly, eyes still shut, they parted, making their way off the dance floor, careful to always keep their backs to the corner.  Sombra curled her lips in to savor the feeling as a smile overtook her face.  She dared a glance at Satya, only to catch sight of a similar expression.  "We did it," Sombra said, giving her hand a squeeze.

Satya only nodded, finding it difficult to put any worthy words together.  Before she could craft any, she heard her own name in Sanjay's voice calling over the music.  She and Sombra exchanged a glance, and without a word the purple-haired woman vanished into the crowd, leaving Satya idly brushing her cheek.

"Saty!" Sanjay called again, taking Satya's arm.  Despite the light touch, Satya had to fight the urge to flinch away.  She turned to find him smiling warmly, not looking any bit the villain she now knew him to be.  "I didn't know you were going to be here!  You usually skip these sorts of things."

"Yes, well," Satya cleared her throat, "this year is different."

"It certainly is," Sanjay chuckled, looking around for someone.  "Where did your dance partner disappear to?  You two were certainly a sight to behold."

"Oh?"

"I'm sorry I missed it," he added.  "You have to introduce me!  What's her name?"

"I..." Satya stammered, staring at the floor.  "I actually don't know."

Sanjay laughed, plucking a pair of champagne flutes from a passing tray and handing one to Satya.  "Honestly, we've worked together all this time, and it turns out I don't know you at all.  Well, here's to new discoveries," he said, raising his glass in a toast.

"Yes," Satya said, meeting his gaze with stony intensity, "to new discoveries."  She glanced toward the corner as they clinked glasses, but Sanjay's mystery partners had long since vanished.  Satya took a long drink.  They had what they came for.  That's all that mattered.

Later that night, after being forced to endure more than a little small talk as Sanjay dragged her along to talk to various investors so he could show off the company's 'star visionary,' Satya returned to her hotel room exhausted but content.  In the morning, they could use Sanjay's access codes to decrypt the hard drives Sombra had somehow acquired and finally get the proof Satya had been so desperate hunting for.

She turned on the light and was startled to find a laptop sitting on the bed.  She half expected to see Sombra lurking in the shadows in a corner of the hotel room, but the woman never appeared.  Settling on the bed, she opened the laptop, watching the last of the party guests drive away through a video feed from the roof.  A small red light appeared next to the laptop's camera and the feed turned to show Sombra's hair blowing in the wind as she watched the procession below. 

There was no sound on the recording, just her smiling face waving as she held up the capture device. Satya smiled back, remembering the last time the woman left her a message on the roof.  Sombra blew her a kiss and Satya laughed, returning the gesture just before Sombra killed the video feed.  A timer popped up with her telltale logo in the corner, counting down to 'our next dance.'

Satya shut the lid and lay back on the bed, holding the laptop against her chest and staring at the ceiling.  The night had been a whirlwind from start to finish.  She traced one finger across her lips and smiled, remembering the kiss and giggling to herself.  She had caught both of them off guard, but just like the dance, Sombra followed her lead beautifully.  Their partnership was growing into something very different, something chaotic and undefined and more than a little frightening. 

And yet Satya was certain she wouldn't have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Sombra continues to be an adorably useless bisexual


	6. Asymmetry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a whirlwind night full of surprising confessions, Satya awakens to find Sombra sleeping beside her, allowing her a rare moment to appreciate the partner who just became so much more.
> 
> Overwatch WLW's Winter Femslash Fest 2017  
> Prompt: Form/Function

Sunlight through the crack in the curtains woke Satya from a deep and satisfying sleep.  The bedroom was awash in soft morning glow, crisp yellows and whites contrasting with the scattering of dark clothing strewn across the floor - her first clue that the rush of the night before hadn't just been a dream.

She slowly became aware of the crumpled sheet tossed haphazardly across her bare skin, along with an arm she was fairly certainly didn't belong to her.  Sombra mumbled as she stirred, brushing her thigh along Satya's before falling back asleep.  Satya smiled, carefully twisting to face her partner without waking her.  Sombra curled up closer, nestling against Satya's chest with a happy sigh.

Following the trail of discarded clothes, Satya started to piece together the night before.  They met at her hotel to finally decrypt the stolen drives, finding no shortage of clues tying Viskhar's interests to less-than-reputable partners.  While there was no magic bullet in the mix, it was more than enough to stall the company's expansion efforts until they could gather more.  It was plenty for Satya to feel safe now that she might be able to keep her boss in check for the time being.

The kiss had come as a surprise to them both.  Satya had been so overjoyed at what they'd found she'd nearly bowled Sombra over in celebration.  They'd locked eyes in a moment's hesitation, each searching the other's face for confirmation of what they both hoped the other felt.  From there it all felt like a blur of hands and lips and desperate, stolen breath between the sheets.

Satya stretched her arm and flexed her fingers, savoring the soreness in every digit.  She glanced around at the room again to locate her other arm, finding it half hidden under Sombra's underthings on the floor.  She chuckled to herself and settled back against the pillow, watching the woman's sleeping face.  Her swoop of colorful dark hair had fallen limp overnight, thanks in no small part to their furious efforts, and the strands now revealed the matching body modifications underneath.  Satya found herself following the lines of it with her eyes, wondering at the purpose of every feature.

She was no stranger to making the most of her own extensions, the hard light engine feeling as much a part of her as her anything else.  She suspected the same was true for Sombra - or, as she'd confessed in the early morning hours, 'Adriana.'  Of course, Satya didn't kid herself into believing that was the woman's real name, but the gesture was touching nevertheless.  She might always be 'Sombra' to Satya, the little imp in the shadows, aglow with ideas and just a little too clever for her own good.

She traced her hand delicately down Sombra's back, following the lines of her implant and cherishing every inch.  For all the chaos the woman carried with her, there were clear patterns to Sombra that Satya treasured.  The shape of her lopsided smile when she felt she had the upper hand, the spikes of color in her eyes that sharpened when her pulse started to race, the softness that snuck into her voice when she was worried she'd gone too far - it all painted a delightful picture of a complicated woman that Satya had only just begun to understand.

Sombra squirmed again, curling up against Satya's warmth and mumbling something under her breath.  Satya smiled to herself, kissing the top of the woman's head and pulling the sheet up around her, sacrificing her view of the wonderful shapes of her lover in the name of letting her rest easy.  Their alliance of convenience had certainly taking an unexpected turn, and Satya still had no idea where exactly this was headed or how they would make it work, but for now the soft light of morning and Sombra's gentle heartbeat made it impossible for her to feel troubled.

Tomorrow would come with new secrets to be uncovered, and for the first time in months, Satya greeted it with open eyes and a ready heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The latest comic had Sombra reacting to "Olivia" but I still don't buy it, it felt a little TOO easy :) Whether the name she gave Satya was the real one or not I'm still undecided on...


	7. Endless Loop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riding high on the success of recent efforts (as well as her newfound romance), Satya returns to work expecting to find her employer stumbling to cover for recent revelations about the company's involvements. What greets her instead is a nasty surprise, and when she reaches out to the one woman who always seems to have all the answers, Sombra isn't answering...

 

Waking up before her alarm, Satya all but sprinted through her morning routine in her eagerness to get to work.  There was little reason to linger - her lover had left sometime in the early hours, leaving only the ghost of her scent and a swirl of crumpled covers in her wake.  Satya had feigned sleep when Sombra kissed her temple on her way out, not wanting to ask where she was going for fear she wouldn't like the answer.  She was much happier with the thoughts of the night before and the promise of victory morning was bringing.

She trailed her fingers slowly through her hair as she gazed into the mirror, grateful for the fond memories that came with each small tug.  She had barely dared to consider what this new relationship would mean for her - for them both.  Her instinct to engage every option and map out all possibilities was strangely absent, giving way to a nebulous desire to leave the future uncertain and let fate take care of itself for a change.  She smiled at her reflection, wondering just how much of Sombra was rubbing off on her already.

The transit terminal was unusually quiet as she waited for her shuttle to the office, watching dawn break behind long, streaky clouds that stretched over the Utopaean horizon.  The city was gold and shimmering and perfect.  She checked her messages, half hoping for some sneaky Easter egg hiding between the icons where her clever lover might have left her a note of endearment.  Alas, she was greeted instead by a reminder of the upcoming company retreat and the need to submit her travel authorization for reimbursement.  She sighed, dismissing the holographic display with a gesture and sitting back to enjoy the view of the city racing by.

The elevator rocketing up to her floor couldn't go fast enough, ferrying her to what she felt sure would be a day of reckoning for Sanjay and his ilk, if only mildly.  The corrupt element poisoning Vishkar from the top had suffered a minor but meaningful blow thanks to the data she and Sombra had found.  She had spent all night dreaming of the sour mood that would no doubt be barely hidden behind Sanjay's neutral pleasant expression when he heard the news of the leak.  The greatest challenge now would be keeping the smile off her face when she saw it.

"Did you hear about Viraj?" one of her coworkers asked another of the engineers as she walked to the morning meeting.

"Yeah," the second coworker replied.  "I can still hardly believe it.  His poor family."

"I'm still stunned," the first said. "I mean, he hardly seemed like the criminal type.  But bribes?  Selling plans to terrorist groups?  I used to play squash with the man, for god's sake!"

Satya stopped in her tracks, feeling a chill run up her spine.

"They say it's always the quiet ones," the second coworker shrugged, returning to their cubicle.

"Makes you wonder," the first said with a sigh.  "If Viraj can be involved in that kind of thing, anyone could.  Who even knows who we have working right down the hall from us?"

"Might actually make the next staff retreat interesting."

Satya heard the two laugh as she hurried into her office, shutting the door behind her to try desperately to catch her breath.  Bribes.  Selling plans.  All the things they'd implicated Sanjay's partners in.  Satya had an excellent memory, she knew - just as she knew there was no 'Viraj' in the data she and Sombra had recovered.

She snapped her fingers to pull up her holographic display, searching the morning's posts for news of the incident.  The news hadn't broken internally yet, but when she expanded her search she found video of the arrest.  A terrified older man shouted protests as police dragged him away while their chief quietly and calming spoke to reporters about 'white collar crime' and how no one was 'above the law.'

A file photo of the man - Viraj Surani, 27 - showed him smiling, with one child on his knee and another climbing over the couch behind him making a face at the camera.  The words "Terrorist attack thwarted in planning stages, collaborator arrested" appeared in sharp, threatening letters underneath.

Back against the door, Satya slid all the way to the floor, staring at the smiling photo.  'How?' was her first and loudest question.  Sanjay must have intercepted the leak somehow, doctored the evidence, and pinned it on this poor man.  But how did he know?  She and Sombra stole terrabytes of data from Vishkar, combed through it for days to find the few nuggets they felt they could act on.  Even if his partners at Talon had told him about the theft, how could Sanjay possibly know what specific crimes she and Sombra had chosen to bring to light?

Satya felt sick.  Her heart raced as she worked through a thousand possibilities, all of them troubling.  Her mind wandered to Viraj and how the arrest would impact his family.  She pulled up his company profile.  He was a low-level manager, only recently promoted to work the small Baltic division.  There was no mention of a spouse or partner.  What would happen to his children now?

Her thoughts circled back to the one person who might still be able to fix this.  She sprang to her feet, circling around to her desk and tossing her scarf over her workstation to cover the camera, just in case.

She didn't even know what she was asking Sombra to do besides find some way to undo what had already been done.  Come to think of it, she didn't even know how to reach the woman in the first place.  Till now, Sombra had always been the one to drop in out of nowhere, taking over her display to send a message.  It wasn't like she left a forwarding address.

Staring at the holographic display floating above her quivering palm, Satya took a deep breath and just started speaking.  "Sombra."  She waited a moment, half hoping she might see a little pink skull pop up in response - some little easter egg the woman left behind.

Nothing.  

"If you can hear me," Satya continued, "it's all out of place.  I don't know how he did it, but Sanjay took what we found and linked it to an innocent man.  He's been arrested, Sombra.  We have to help him.  When you get this," she paused, hearing a sound outside her door and lowering her voice.  "If you get this, call me back as soon as you can.  Please, Sombra.  I need you."  She shut her eyes, finding the next words already leaving a foul taste in her mouth.  "I don't know what to do."

A knock at her door caused her to jump, and Satya quickly closed her palm, snuffing out the display.  A moment later Sanjay entered, his warm smile chilling her to the bone.  "Morning, Satya," he said, carrying in two cups of tea.  "Anjali said you came in without your morning cup, so I snagged an extra before the meeting."

He set the spare cup on her desk and turned the pull over a chair, giving Satya a moment to snatch her scarf back from where it lay awkwardly across her workstation and tuck it out of sight.  She didn't take her eyes off Sanjay.  "How are things going on the community center designs?"

"Fine," Satya said, worried she wouldn't be able to keep the enmity out of her voice if she said much more.

"Good," Sanjay smiled, taking a sip of his tea.  He looked especially proud of himself this morning, or was Satya just imagining that?  She couldn't get the image of Viraj's smiling children out of  her mind.  "Then hopefully the team can pick up and finish where you left off."

"Pardon?" Satya squirmed in her seat, stealing a glance at her palm display under her desk.  Still no response from Sombra.

"New news," Sanjay explained, scooting her tea closer to her.  "You've been assigned to a new project - a grand hotel."  He took a sip of his own tea.  "In Estonia."

"The Baltic division?" Satya asked.  Of course, she thought.  They have a new opening, after all.  She felt her teeth grind until it gave her a headache.  Her stomach turned.

"Oh, it's not so bad," Sanjay said, apparently misreading her discomfort.  "It's a small unit now, but with your expertise, we'll revitalize the whole region, just like in Rio."

Rio.  Satya felt her grip on her scarf tighten.  "When?" she asked, checking her palm display again and fighting to keep her expression level.

"You fly out tomorrow," Sanjay said, getting to his feet.  "I'll have all the details to you by this afternoon.  It's a very exciting opportunity, Satya - there's no one better to see it through."

Satya felt his hand come to rest on her prosthetic shoulder and froze in her seat.  The touch was just as unwelcome, flesh or no.  "No one does what you do, Satya," Sanjay said, his voice taking on a troubling new tone.  "You're an invaluable resource to us.  I don't know what I'd do if we lost you."

She didn't dare look up to meet his gaze, worried what he might see in her eyes, or what she might spot in mind.  His grip tightened for a moment and then let go as he walked easily to the door, waving over his shoulder.  "I'll see you at the meeting" he said.  "Don't forget your tea!"

Satya jumped again as the door shut firmly behind him.  The air in her office buzzed with the tension of the exchange.  How much did Sanjay know, and more importantly, how in the hell did he know it?  She checked her palm display one last time, reminded by the clock in the corner that she was nearly late for the meeting.

She grabbed the tea off the corner of her desk, tossing it in the bin on the way out the door.  There was nothing more to do now than keep her head down and hope to hear back from Sombra soon.  There had to be a way to fix this, there just had to.  Until then, Satya just needed to keep her head down and prepare for her upcoming trip.

Miles away in an abandoned office building, Sombra sat staring at her own holographic display, rewatching the video of Satya's plea for help.  Overlapping the video was the video of Viraj's arrest. 

A long-nailed hand curled itself around Sombra's shoulder as Moira materalized behind her before Sombra had the chance to dismiss the display.  "I trust everything's prepared?" she said.

Sombra sighed, flicking open a larger display showing a run-down neighborhood somewhere in Estonia, along with profiles on a number of wanted omnics in the area and their current whereabouts.

"Good," Moira said, peering closer at one of the omnics.  "And the Vishkar assignment?"

"Done," Sombra muttered.  "The director is safe.  It took a lot of backfill, but I linked the leak to a middle manager with no extended family.  A nobody."

"Excellent," Moira said, smiling to herself.  "No one to notice when he disappears."

Sombra felt a sting at the corner of her eyes and kept her face turned away from the woman behind her.  After what felt like an eternity, Moira slipped away, leaving her alone in the dark. 

With a heavy sigh, Sombra pulled up the video of Satya again, feeling her heart break more and more with each replay.  Widowmaker was right, it was the only way to keep the things she loved safe.  She envied the woman right now, wishing for a moment that she were the one who couldn't feel things anymore.

She reached a hand out to try and touch the face on the image, disrupting the display as her fingers searched in vain for the target of their longing.  Closing her eyes, she looped the video again, sinking into the sound of the woman's voice and letting it tear her in two.


	8. Fault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Distraught, Satya reaches out to Sombra in hopes of repairing, or at least understanding, the damage they unintentionally did. As things quickly grow heated, Sombra's only defense becomes a dangerous confession.

"Satya, wait--" Sombra pleaded, trying to follow her partner's frenzied pacing through the woman's apartment.  Satya looked like a study in interruptions - half dressed, hair half tucked into the early suggestion of a bun, splitting her attentions between the series of holographic images blinking by on her palm projector and the various items she was collecting from around her strangely disheveled apartment.  The whole scene filled Sombra with a discomfort she couldn't quite explain.

"If we could just- no, they'll have thought of that, of course," Satya muttered, changing tack suddenly both physically and mentally.  Sombra could only just flatten herself against the wall to avoid being crashed into as her lover continued her obsessive search for a solution to a problem she still hadn't completely voiced.  Sombra opened her mouth to try and steal some small, unclaimed corner of the woman's attention when Satya whirled on her with alarming focus.  "You," she said.

Sombra's jaw clapped shut, suddenly longing for the moment when she was all but invisible to the woman.

"You can change the transfer orders," Satya continued, holding up a projection of a news clip showing Viraj Surani being arrested.  "Send the transport to a different station.  We can get their first."

"Satya..." Sombra felt her heart sink.  Satya still felt she could fix this.  She hadn't yet realized it was far too late.  A fall guy was also a loose end, and she had learned first-hand how swiftly Talon snipped its loose ends. 

She could only watch as the first hint of tears glinted at the edges of Satya's eyes, but the woman merely huffed and turned her back on Sombra, marching toward the bedroom and gathering up her mission gear, seemingly intent to save Viraj through sheer force of will.  "Fine," she said, "if you won't help me--"

"Satya, that's not--" Sombra closed her eyes, taking a moment to collect herself.  "There's nothing either of us can do for him now!"

"Bakavaas," Satya spat.  "I refuse to believe that."

"I know," Sombra said, taking one cautious step toward the woman currently calibrating her photon projector, "but it's true."  She took another step closer, watching Satya's careful hands begin to shake.  "We still did the right thing, Satya.  We couldn't have known--"

"We killed him, Sombra!" Satya said at once, tossing her weapon onto the bed with uncharacteristic abandon.  "He was a good man.  He did nothing.  And we killed him."

"Who said anything about--?"

"Please," Satya scoffed, taking off her visor to wipe away the tears.  She tossed it onto the pillow and sat on the edge of the bed, hands clutched tightly in her lap to stop their shaking.  "We both know he was dead the moment they put him in that van.  I am not an idiot, Sombra."

"I know, I didn't--"

"And we both knew this could happen," Satya said, staring at the floor.  "We knew who we were up against.  We knew what they're willing to do.  We were arrogant, and reckless, and we killed a good man."

"Talon killed him," Sombra corrected, joining her on the bed and resting a hand on her shoulder.

" _You're_ Talon!" Satya cried, swatting her hand away.  She got to her feet and began pacing the apartment again, not spotting the pained look on her lover's face.  

Sombra felt all her words catch in her throat.  She wanted to scream, to tell Satya all about the choice she'd been forced to make - the choice that saved her life.  What would Satya have done differently in her place?  The life of a random employee, over the woman she loved?  What kind of choice was that?

But of course Satya wouldn't understand.  She would only hear that Sombra was the reason an innocent man had become a statistic.  An error.  An imperfection to be ironed out.  Satya was angry with her now, what would she think of her if she knew?  Sombra closed her eyes, hoping for tears that wouldn't come.  Much as this hurt Satya, she knew she would never have chosen differently.  The woman meant too much to her.  She would burn the world to keep her safe.

"You should go," Satya said, her voice quiet but certain.  There was something chilling in her calm tone.  "I need to pack.  I fly out in the morning."

Sombra opened her mouth to speak but found no words.  She looked around the bedroom as if worried she'd never see it again before slowly getting to her feet.  "Satya," she said, one last plea for - for what?  Forgiveness?  Understanding?  For the woman to just look her way one last time?  She didn't deserve any of it.  Sombra choked back her words and activated her translocator, seeing Satya's tearful eyes turn her way just as she vanished from the room.  The cold night air hit her like an anvil as she rematerialized on the roof above, falling to her knees and wrapping her arms tightly around herself as she began to shake.  

'I love you.'  That's what she was going to say.  But in what world could a woman like Satya love her back?  In what world could she deserve it?

In the apartment below, Satya wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye, breathed in sharply and set about cleaning up the apartment she had all but trashed in her hopeless frenzy.  The cluttered space felt strangely empty, and the quiet she so often sought for comfort now brought an anxiety she couldn't name.  Perhaps the trip would do her good.  Travel was so often a stressful experience, but this time it might provide a pleasant diversion.  She would welcome anything to distract from the sudden flood of memories of their stolen moment, passionate and true, in the sheets she was now carefully folding.

There was no undoing what they'd done.  All Satya could do now was search for a way to make Talon and Sanjay pay for it. 

It was a long flight to Estonia, she thought as she tucked her visor into her luggage.  Plenty of time to think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry everybody for the long wait! Working on a second update for this month to catch up and then hopefully getting back to monthly updates from here on to the end. Also I promise it works out >.> I'm so sorry


	9. Resistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> En route to a new mission, Sombra can only think about how she left things with Satya. Comfort comes from an unexpected source, leading to new questions about her own loyalties to Talon.

 

"That's settled, then," Sanjay said, getting to his feet.  The other Talon operators followed suit as the hologram of the new housing project vanished into the conference table in the center of the room.  The Vishkar company logo lingered just a moment longer before flickering out as well.  "Keep me apprised of the situation in Georgia, I should like to see how that develops while I'm en route."

"Understood," one of the other operators answered as they all exited the room, already discussing travel arrangements to the Baltics.

The door clicked shut as the lights dimmed in the room, and for all the security personnel monitoring it could tell it remained that way, even after the form of a woman outlined in bright purple flickered into view.  With a few quick taps on the center console, the building plans reappeared, revealing Sombra's icy expression in the soft glow.

With a gesture, the plans vanished from the central display and reappeared in her palm.  Vishkar.  Satya.  This was her opportunity, Sombra thought - I way to make up for what had happened.  If she could disrupt what Talon was planning - what Sanjay was overseeing directly - and get away with the evidence, maybe it would be enough to at least make them think twice about involving the company - Satya's company - in any further schemes for a while.  It wasn't much, she knew, but...maybe it would be enough.  Anything to give the woman reason to hope again.  Reason to want to see her again

Cursing under her breath, she clapped her hand shut around the hologram to smother it out of existence, heading for the door and beginning to reactivate her camouflage.  A proximity warning on her console flashed, stopping her mid-gesture as she whirled about, drawing her gun in the process and staring at the black smoke flowing into the shape of a man through the vents behind her.

"Reckless," Reaper growled, taking a step toward the woman with the loaded gun.

"You're one to talk."  Sombra took a step back, stealing a glance over her shoulder to ensure the door was still clear.  She could hack the lock from here, but they were still eleven stories up and in the heart of Talon HQ.  Where was she going to go?

"Just what are you trying to prove?" Reaper asked, still gliding toward her.  One boot materialized out of the smoke and landed firmly in front of her just as Sombra found her back against the wall, in more ways than one. 

She still had the gun trained on him but there was little point.  She'd seen Gabriel in combat, she'd just be putting holes in the opposite wall.  She opted for her second-best weapon instead.  With a shrug and a smile, she tucked the weapon away, giving her the excuse to slip a hand out of view behind her as she worked on getting access to the building's systems.  "What? A girl has to keep her skills sharp once in a while.  I just--"

She stopped short as Reaper slammed one clawed glove palm-flat against the wall behind her. The movement drew her eye for just a moment, long enough for that familiar mask to loom in all the closer to her face.  Sombra did her best to look unimpressed.  They knew each other well enough to know what they were capable of.  What really had her puzzled was why he was bothering with this little display.  Trying to scare her?  Really?  What was the point?

"You're biting off more than you can chew," he sighed, dissipating right before her eyes and reappearing several feet away, his back to her.  Whatever the reason, Sombra knew this was her chance. She triggered the door to unlock and heard the distant ding of the elevator she'd readied just down the hall.  This was her window.

But halfway out the door she stopped, looking back at the man lurking in the dark conference room, its systems still on idle thanks to her earlier meddling.  Gabriel could be dramatic but he didn't act without reason.  Anyway, he was a witness to what she'd done, and news of her interference could get to Sanjay before he was even on the transport.  No.  There was no point in running.

Stepping back into the room she closed the door behind her and heard the auto-lock reengage, blocking her escape.  "What do you care?" she demanded.  "Why aren't you stopping me?"

Reaper let out a sound like a long sigh.  He sounded tired, pained - more than usual.  Slowly the white mask turned to face her.  "Because you've already lost."

"Bullshit," Sombra spat.  "I haven't even gotten started.  Besides, you have no idea what I'm planning!"

"I know it's about the architect," Reaper sighed.  "You need to take care of her before she becomes a problem. Or someone else will..."

"Shut up!"Sombra drew her weapon again, advancing on the man until she stood only inches away from him.  Reaper didn't move.  Up close even in the dark Sombra could see the wisps of black smoke around the edges of his form.  He was barely holding himself together.  "I'm going to fix this," she told him, voice shaking with rage.  "I'm going after Sanjay, I'm going to crash the project before Talon gets its fingers all over it, and I'm going to get her out of there." 

"And then what?" Reaper whirled about, looming over Sombra and causing her to take another half-step back.  His mask made a light 'tck' sound as it came to rest on the barrel of her gun, staring her down from the far side of the sights.  "You think you can keep her safe?  You think you can keep yourself safe?" He leaned back, reaching up to pull the mask down.  In the low light, Sombra could make out only the barest suggestion of a face.  "You don't even know what they're capable of."

The gun started to shake in Sombra's hand.  Slowly she lowered it, unable to take her eyes away from Gabriel's face even as he put the mask back on.  The look of him didn't terrify her, it was his words.  He was right - Talon always found a way to win.  She knew more than most, maybe even more than him about all the things Talon was involved in.  All the secret wars they were winning, every day, while the rest of the world just went on pretending they weren't there. 

"What should I do?" she asked in a voice hushed by a growing fear.  

"Forget her," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder as he stepped past her toward the door.

Sombra felt sick.  Talon twisted everything around. Anything she tried to do to help Satya could as easily become a weapon against her.  If Talon wanted her quietly working for them, forever, they could do it, and there was nothing Sombra could do to stop them. Reaper was right.

She found herself suddenly remembering a similar conversation on a hot night in Brazil with a blue woman telling her she should walk away before she gets herself hurt.  Sombra's grip tightened around the gun until her had was shaking again, her anger returning in force.

"I'm not like you and Widow," she said.  "I can't just forget how I feel."

A low chuckle from Gabriel caught her off-guard, mostly in just how human it sounded.  "You really think I've forgotten?" he said.  "I made a choice.  I chose to survive."

"I don't care about surviving," Sombra said.  "I just want..."

She hesitated, unable to form the words out loud.  Looking at the man in the mask, she got the strangest feeling he understood.  Really, deeply understood.  "What should I really do?" she asked.

A long moment stretched across the silent air between them.  Suddenly the lights in the room blinked to life, signaling the end of her looping script.  The cameras would be on them now, yet neither of them moved.

"Remember why you came here," Reaper said at last, opening the door.  Sombra watched him go, standing alone in the empty conference room with only his words for company.  Why she came here?  She wanted answers.  She wanted to know who was behind it all.  She wanted the truth.

Her breath caught in her throat.  He was right.  Glancing at her palm, Sombra smiled to herself, already thinking through all the pieces she would need to have in place for this to work.  Did she have enough time?  It didn't matter - this was her chance to make it right.  To get Satya away from Talon once and for all.  And maybe, if she was really lucky, a chance to give Sanjay a giant headache for the trouble.

Glancing up at the cameras, she waved, and in a flicker of purple light, she was gone.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way longer than it should've and is super rough but I'm finally writing again so I'm just gonna keep going and see if I finally have enough momentum to finish this arc! Thanks everybody for your patience! ^^;


	10. Connection Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Determined not to be used again, Satya scours details of Vishkar's current project to ensure she isn't serving the wrong agenda. Her thoughts wander to a similar investigation and the partner she shared it with, leading to new and trouble revelations about her true feelings.

_Building a Better Future, Together._  

Satya stared at the words sharply slanted against the corner of the brochure celebrating Vishkar's latest partnership.  The edge of her mouth twitched in disgust at the sight of the two happy people shaking hands in front of a rough sketch of the new housing project intended to patch over some of the damage the Crisis had left on the local countryside. 

Everything about this assignment tasted sour.  Construction was nearing completion - when Satya asked why she was being brought in so late in the process, Sanjay explained that the original architect assigned to the project has disappeared under mysterious circumstances.  Local news put the blame squarely on local omnics apparently upset with the treatment of their workers during construction, but Satya was certain Talon - Sombra's Talon - was somehow involved.  

Even the name of the city - 'Tallinn' - left a foul taste in Satya's mouth.  It was almost certainly a coincidence, but she felt sure Sanjay was mocking her all the same, knowing what she knew and still powerless to stop him.

Every night since arriving in the capitol, Satya had returned to her hotel room early and begun scouring the project details again and again from the chair by the window, looking for what possible aim Talon could have constructing accessible housing for humans in the region.  When she came up empty the whole first week, she began digging into other projects, starting with the mess in Rio - back before she knew who she was really working for.  Back before Sombra. 

Satya closed her palm and sank into the chair.  The small holographic screen flickered into nothing, leaving her in the dark of the empty hotel room surrounded by only her thoughts and the lingering echo of the chemicals the cleaning staff had used that morning.

She closed her eyes and fought to ignore the discomfort twisting her stomach in knots.  What if she were wrong?  What if the only reason Sanjay assigned her here was so he could keep a better eye on her?  What if the project was just intended as a distraction and nothing more - something to keep her busy while Talon tightened up their security to avoid any future leaks?

A gentle touch pulled Satya from her thoughts and she was alarmed to find that the hand caressing her arm was her own.  The fingers of the prosthetic were still warm from her overuse of the projector earlier.  She stared at them as they curled softly toward her shoulder, all set to trace their way back down. 

Like she had. 

With a slow, deliberate twist, Satya removed the prosthetic, holding it up to the moonlight filtering in from the window so she could stare at the fingers still posed in the gesture of their last traitorous touch.  She sighed and set the arm on the bed, sinking further into the chair and pulling her knees up to her chest.

It was a simple equation in architecture to balance competing forces.  You had to account for how much stress the structure could take before it shuddered itself apart from the strain.  But history was littered with the names of architects who had failed to account for the human element.  Satya had often wondered what it must feel like: watching your great work crumble to pieces because you understood blueprints better than people.

She didn't have to wonder anymore.  

Satya turned off the light and got ready for bed, setting her arm on the bedside table for the morning.  Tomorrow she would meet with the omnic foreman to go over the upper sky bridge plans.  Maybe the thinner air would help clear her head.  She would find out what Sanjay was really up to here - with or without Sombra's help.  

But as she drifted off to an uneasy sleep, Satya knew it wasn't Sombra's help that she was missing.  


End file.
